It is known to provide the body of automotive vehicles, especially passenger cars, in the zone of the front, rear and/or lateral surfaces with an embossing or indentation for the arrangement of the bumper and/or its trim in order to locate the bumper, but especially its trim, within the body in a "so to speak" more or less integrated fashion. For this purpose, the body is "tucked in" more or less deeply in the region of these molded parts, with a generally slightly inclined ledge being provided between the upper portion of the body wall and the retracted portion of the wall. In any vehicle, a spacer gap must be determined of, for example, 10 to 15 mm, between the top edge of the molded part and the body panel and/or the ledge, so that the paint will not be damaged in case of relative motion between the molded part and the body.
If this juncture is to be very narrow, for instance only 1 to 2 mm, then special measures must be taken. It is known, in this connection, for example, to glue a pint protective film in place, mostly in overhead work. Also, soft profiled sealing strips can be placed onto the molded part, with additional steps being necessary for ensuring a linear top edge.
Since every car body has manufacturing tolerances, the width of the juncture gap is also subject to a corresponding tolerance. Consequently, the juncture width varies not only from one vehicle to the next, but also over the length of the molded part proper.